OTHER SPORT

MAGNIFICENT TEVEZ COULD BE HAMMERS' SAVIOUR

Tevez celebrates his 3rd goal in three games

Sunday April 1,2007

By Paul Brown

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CARLOS Tevez is breathing new life into West Ham’s fight for survival - what a shame he could still be the death of their Premiership dream.

Tevez is a man reborn, with three goals in as many games after an agonising six months without scoring.

He made one for Bobby Zamora and scored another against Middlesbrough to give the Hammers back-to-back wins for the first time under Alan Curbishley.

The Hammers fans still believe they can pull off a great escape on the back of their Argentine hero, who scored for the first time from open play.

But his good work could be wiped out if West Ham are docked points for signing him and his former team-mate Javier Mascherano.

The Premiership will decide this month whether their transfer from Brazilian club Corinthians broke the rules.

And a three-point deduction could still be the difference between survival and failure.

This was a must-win game with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United still to come, but win it they did – and with ease.

Gareth Southgate’s visitors never looked like recording their first win in five and handed both goals to the home side on a plate.

The rampant Hammers went in front after Tevez’s cross deflected off first Emanuel Pogatetz and then Andrew Taylor into the path of Zamora, who fired home.

West Ham looked nervous still, but Tevez made it two on the stroke of half-time after a George McCartney cross bounced off Taylor and fell to the Argentine.

Curbishley said: “Carlos reminds me of Wayne Rooney. He is flying around and has made it change for him.
Every now and then he over-indulges but that’s what West Ham fans are used to. He has given us a bit of a spur and we can take it on from there.”

Southgate said: “We didn’t do enough to deserve anything. We have to make sure we get a reaction now. It was a bit surprising because they prepared well, trained well and they looked like they were up for it.”

MATCH STATS

WEST HAM 2
MIDDLESBOROUGH 0

WEST HAM: Green 6; Neill 5, Ferdinand 6, Collins 6, McCartney 5; Bowyer 6, Reo-Coker 5 (Mullins (66th) 6), Noble 7; Zamora 7 (Blanco (68th) 6), Tevez 8 (Boa Morte 82nd).

MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer 6; Xavier 6, Pogatetz 5 (Huth (69th) 6), Woodgate 6, Taylor 3; Parnaby 5 (Johnson (55th) 6), Rochemback 6 (Euell 88th), Boateng 6, Downing 6; Viduka 6, Yakubu 5.

MAN OF MATCH: Carlos Tevez.
Referee: M Halsey.